It was eight pm and as it was late October it was also dark. Janie Tucker was curled up in a chair in the sitting room of the small cottage she shared with her mum and dad. She was pretending to be absorbed in the book on her lap. In reality the pretty eighteen year old had taken in nothing of Jane Eyre, her set A-level text. She was casting quick anxious glances at her father who was beginning to doze in front of the fire. Her mother was knitting on the opposite side of the fire.
Janie took a deep breath. Now or never. She stood up.
"Just out Mum."
"At this hour? Its dark lovey!" Mrs Tucker was startled.
"I know Mum, its Sandra, she wanted me to go round tonight to look at some homework she's struggling with." The lie came easily.
"Well, its getting on." Mrs Tucker glanced at the clock. "All right. Don't be too late mind. Back by ten. You've school tomorrow. We don't want you tired out with exams coming up. Don't disturb your Dad on your way out. He's worn out."
Janie smiled thanks, and went to get her coat. Mrs Tucker watched through the window from her chair as her daughter ran down the path. Their cottage was on the edge of the Ashfordly Estate. As Mr Tucker was one of the groundsmen at the Hall it was a grace and favour cottage. It was about twenty minutes to the Village where Sandra lived. It would not take Janie long to get there but, still. Mrs Tucker would feel better when she was in for the night.
Janie felt bad for lying to her Mum and Dad but she would not have done it had she thought she really had to. She couldn't let Tony down!
Tony Webster was the focus of Janie's world right now. She had fallen helplessly for the dark, swarthy nineteen year old from the day she'd cast eyes on him in his leathers sat on his motorbike on the road outside the school gates. And she'd been overwhelmed when he noticed her too, actually speaking to her. She couldn't believe it!
Then the next day he was outside the school again – and again, until eventually they went round the corner from school to a small greasy spoon and had a coffee and things went from there.
However what Janie knew, absolutely, was Tony would not meet with approval from her parents. She stubbornly refused to acknowledge the points they would object to. The fact that Tony's father was in prison and his mother skirting on the edges of meeting the same fate. The fact that Tony's sister, Wendy, was twenty and had a child out of wedlock. The fact Tony had had a couple of brushes with the law which Janie reconciled by arguing in her mind he hadn't actually been found guilty of anything. Still all in all the facts stacked up and Janie knew her mum and dad would be less than thrilled if she took Tony home for tea. So he remained a very close secret.
Sandra, her friend, knew about him and had warned Janie off. "You want to watch that one," she'd said more than once but Janie with stars in her eyes was not prepared to listen putting Sandra's words down to jealousy. Another thing Janie's mum didn't know was that Janie and Sandra, such friends once, had had something of a falling out because Sandra wouldn't stand for Janie using her as an alibi when really she was meeting Tony.
However of late things had not been going well for Janie and Tony. He'd been impatient with her pushing her to go "all the way" but Janie had held out terrified of having to explain a pregnancy to her parents. She'd sensed that Tony was becoming more and more fed up with the situation and she had managed to "do something about it" – a trip to a clinic in York had sorted that out. A girlfriend of one of Tony's mates, Bridie, much more worldly than Janie had told her all about it and the fact she'd have to pretend she was married to get what she needed. She'd gone yesterday (bunking off school) – another secret from her parents – and that was what she wanted to tell Tony now.
Anyway, she ran down the lane and along the road which led to the village. It was very dark with thick trees either side but she was country born and bred and used to it. The night presented no fears to her.
She got to the cross roads where she had arranged to meet Tony. He was there standing by his motorbike scuffing his toe in the grass. He glanced up crossly. "Where've you been?"
"Sorry," she gasped catching her breath. "I couldn't get out."
"Your parents keep you locked up like a nun!"
"That's not fair Tony." She bit her lip. "Look I wanted to see you, to tell you its sorted."
"What is?"
She swallowed. He was prone to foul moods and he was in one tonight for sure. He'd cheer up though when she told him what she had done.
"I went to a clinic Tony. I'm on the pill! We can – you know –"
"Nah, its too much effort."
"What?"
"You, its too hard work. You can hardly ever get out to go the flicks. When do you reckon you'd get out to do owt else? Not going to spend the night with me are you?"
She paused. "Maybe Sandra would –"
"Why don't you just walk in to your mum and dad with me and say I'm your boyfriend?"
"I can't!"
"Because you're ashamed of me!"
"No! Look,they're strict, but its because they want me to do well and go to University next year! I'm all they've got!"
"That's summat else and all. What happens to me when you go to University?"
"Well we can write. And phone. And I'll back in the holidays. Anyway, I might not go, if I don't pass my exams."
He looked at her. "You'll pass 'em. Look Janie, you're a nice girl but its just too hard work all right?"
She stared at him stricken. "What do you mean?"
"You're a clever girl. You can work that out." He swung his leg over his bike.
"You're not finishing with me!"
"Look you're real pretty all right and I really like you but its just hard work and I don't need it." He started up the bike. "Take care of yourself, kid." He rode off into the night leaving Janie stood there with tears running down her face.
She put her hands in her duffel coat pocket and walked back along the road making no attempt to wipe away her tears. She was so absorbed in her misery and anger she didn't hear it at first. But eventually she heard a distinctive crack from the trees alongside her. She stopped.
"Who's there?" she called.
No one emerged and there was no more sound and she turned to walk on but she felt nervous now and began to hurry suddenly longing for the safety of home. She had nearly got to the point where you turned off down the lane back to the cottage when a dark clad figure with their face covered emerged from the trees in front of her.
There was no one to hear Janie's piercing scream.
The clock in the cottage struck ten thirty. Janie's father, went to the window again.
"I'm going to ring Sandra," her mother said finally. "Its very unlike Janie though to let us down like this."
She went out into the hall. Mr Tucker sighed and let the curtain drop as there was still no sign of his daughter. He went out into the hall. Mrs Tucker was putting down the phone.
"Colin, Sandra was in bed. She said Janie wasn't meant to be going round there tonight. She doesn't know why Janie said Sandra wanted her to go round."
"Then where has she got to?" Colin asked. "Its not in our Janie to lie."
"Well Sandra was quite adamant. Colin, I'm giving it another half hour then I'm phoning the police. I'm that worried!"
The call to the Police House in Aidensfield came through at eleven pm. Nick and Kate were both in bed – after a busy day with an early start sleep was precious. When they heard the phone jangling downstairs Nick groaned.
"We've only just got in bed!" Kate put her head under the pillows then after a moment followed Nick down the stairs. The call could easily be for her as well as him.
He was putting down the phone as she arrived downstairs tying her dressing gown. "Mrs Tucker," he said. "From off the Ashfordly Estate? Her daughter Janie was due in at ten and she's not come home."
"That's not like Janie!" Kate said. "She's very reliable, her mum always says so."
Nick smiled wryly. "She's also eighteen," he said. "Eighteen year olds are not exactly well known for being reliable. Chances are she will be home by the time I get up there." He headed upstairs to get dressed.
Kate called up the stairs after him, "Don't pre-judge Nick!"
The minute she heard the motorbike outside, Mrs Tucker came running out. "She's not home yet Mr Rowan," she said breathlessly.
"All right Mrs Tucker." Nick nodded to Mr Tucker behind her. "Evening Colin. Shall we go inside?"
They went into the cottage and sat down in the sitting room.
"Just run through tonight for me," Nick said gently to Mrs Tucker. "What time did Janie go out and where did she say she was going?"
"She shouldn't have been let go out!" Colin Tucker had not sat down but resumed his vigil at the window. "I were asleep, if I'd known, I'd have said no!"
"All right Colin," Nick said calmly. He looked back at Mrs Tucker, dropping the formality. "Brenda?"
"She were sat there reading Mr Rowan," the woman said. "And then about eight –"
"About?" Nick interrupted. Precision was vital.
"It was eight o'clock," the woman confirmed. "She said she wanted to go down to the village and see Sandra, her friend about some homework."
"Sandra Riley?" Nick guessed.
"That's right. And I said it was all right but I'd like her back by ten. I know she's eighteen but she's working so hard for her A-Levels and it's a school night, its not good for her to be late."
"Only she hasn't come home yet?" Nick said.
"No and she hasn't been to Sandra Riley's either." Colin sat down suddenly. "Sandra didn't know anything about it."
"She wouldn't be covering for Janie for some reason?" Nick asked.
"Janie wouldn't do that Mr Rowan, she wouldn't lie to us!" exclaimed Brenda.
Nick exchanged glances with Colin Tucker. Nick did not have quite the same faith.
"About today," Nick said. "Has Janie behaved unusually at all? Has she seemed worried about anything or has anything upset her?"
"No, nothing?"
"Any boyfriends?"
"No!" said Brenda vehemently. "She hasn't time for all that Mr Rowan, not with her studies and all."
"Right." Nick took a deep breath. This one was going to need even more gentle handling than usual. "What I'm going to do is get in touch with the station and we'll organise a search. I'll also undertake some enquiries around the village and see if anyone has seen Janie tonight and I'll speak to Sandra in the meantime. Can you give me a detailed description of what she was wearing when she left here tonight, and also I'll need a recent photograph please."
Nick conducted the search of Janie's room himself with her mother present. He could sense her mother's unease with this breach of her daughter's privacy but it was a very necessary thing to do.
"Can you look in her wardrobe Brenda and tell me if there is anything missing – change of clothes for example?"
"She won't have run away!" the woman stared at him.
"Brenda, we have to consider everything. I'm sorry," Nick said gently. He wasn't going to point it out to her but the fact was teenagers didn't tell their parents everything.
Janie's mother sighed but looked through Janie's wardrobe anyway. "There's nothing missing," she confirmed.
Nick nodded and moved to the chest of drawers. Quickly and expertly he went through it, removing from it a pack of tablets which a quick glance told him were birth control tablets.
"Mrs Tucker?" he showed them to her. She knew straight away what they were. She looked confused.
"They can't be Janie's," she said flatly.
"Its her name on the packet," Nick pointed out gently.
"Janie wouldn't be taking those. I don't understand." Looking bewildered the woman sat down on the chair in the room.
Nick carried on, wondering what other secrets were going to emerge. It was a pretty distasteful job but they had to find out what was going on – all they were concerned about was whether Janie was safe. Nick was forming the view now she hadn't met with harm but she was with someone, possibly someone her parents would not approve of.
He took from under Janie's pillow her diary. It was one of those that locked but the lock was flimsy. Nick glanced at the girl's mother who nodded briefly. Within a second Nick had bust the lock and was flicking through the diary.
"Who's Tony?" he asked.
"I have no idea," Brenda spoke in low tones. What other secrets had her daughter been hiding?